Monday, April 9, 2012

Spicy Crab Sushi Rolls

I've made sushi a couple of times and made a complete mess. Once in college I tried to tempura fry anything I could get my hands on. No joke, there was batter splattered on the ceiling of our rental house. Oops. This was a little cleaner and easier, especially since I had the help of Blake, master sushi-chef. Well, maybe not master, but he has taken a class in sushi rolling and got a sushi knife out of the deal! One of my best friends has been asking for months for a post on rolling sushi. Sorry it has taken me so long, Allison! Here you go. Also, get creative with your ingredients...Blake added peanut butter to one. It was actually good!

First, if you have powdered wasabi put a Tbsp in a small bowl and gradually add water and mix with a fork until it forms a thick paste and you can form it into a ball. Turn the bowl over on the counter and let it sit upside-down until you use it.

Before boiling the rice, make sure to rinse it first in a sieve or colander lined with a paper towel. Cook your sushi rice according to the package directions.Once it is done cooking add 2 Tbsp rice vinegar. This will help make it sticky. Transfer to a large bowl and let it cool.

Next, make your spicy crab mix. Drain any liquid from the crab and put in a bowl. Add 2-3 Tbsp mayo and 1 tsp - 1 Tbsp Sriracha depending on how spicy you want it. Squeeze the juice of 1/2 lemon on top. If you like onions you could also add 3 chopped green onions. Stir. By the way you can find this crab meat in the packaged refrigerated seafood section of your regular grocery store.

Slice your cucumber and avocado. Get out your sushi rolling mat and cover it with saran wrap. Put it on a flat surface (such as your counter). Put a sheet of nori shiny side down on the plastic

Now cover most of the nori in sushi rice. You don't want too much or it will get too thick, but you don't want to see the nori through the rice. Also, avoid going to the edges and leave 1-2 inches without any rice at the edge furthest from you. See pic below.

Next add your filling about 2 inches from the edge of the rice closest to you (again see pic). Make sure not to "over stuff" or it will be a mess. We used about 2-3 Tbsp of the spicy crab mix and a few slices of avocado. Using a few cucumber sticks will add a nice crunch (we ran out for this roll). Wet the edge of the nori paper furthest from you with a little water. This will help the roll stay together.

Now starting with the edge closest to use, roll the sushi with your mat. Take the rice/nori closest to you and fold it over your stuffing. Press down hard making sure not to roll the mat or plastic into your roll! Continue rolling tightly until the whole sushi is rolled. You may want to press down in certain areas to try to make it round. Those are not my manly hands below; Blake is rolling the sushi :)

Now, using a very sharp and wet knife, slice the sushi into pieces. You could start by slicing in half and then in half again, and so on. Also, sometimes the nori has dotted lines or perforations that you can follow as a guide. The trick here is to clean and wet your blade between each cut. Also, quick movements of the wrist will ensure a nice clean cut. Just don't slice your finger..although it looks like Blake is about to in the pic below. Don't worry, he didn't.

Place the sushi on a plate with the little ball of wasabi and a few pieces of pickled ginger from the jar. You can garnish your sushi with sprouts, sesame seeds or a sprinkle of tempura flakes! Also, you could make spicy tuna rolls using the mixture I made for the Spicy Tuna Towers (recipe coming soon). Cooked shrimp, scallops or salmon would be other great seafood add-ins. Try to recreate your favorite sushi restaurant roll! Do you have a favorite roll you want to re-create or want me to try? Comment below!

Lane, you can also make spicy tuna which is fabulous! Keep an eye for a post on a Spicy Tuna Tower. You can use that same mixture in the rolls. Also, want a spicy mayo to dip or garnish on top? You can use the easy spicy mayo recipe here: http://www.recklessabandoncook.com/2011/08/stuffed-salmon-with-spicy-mayo-sauce.html